Former strongman and shot-putter Geoff Capes as sadly died at the age of 75.
The athlete, from Holbeach, Lincolnshire, was arguably the UK’s best shot-putter during his career in the 1970s and 80s.
After retiring from the sport, he moved on to become one of the world’s most well-known strongmen, winning the ‘World’s Strongest Man’ award in 1983 and 1985, while also taking home ‘Europe’s Strongest Man’ awards in 1980, 1982 and 1984.
Standing at six feet and six inches, the towering athlete was a household name in his fields, though it didn’t come easy.
Capes was a popular name in the latter decades of the 20th century (Tony Duffy/Getty Images)
Following Capes’ passing today (23 October), his family released a statement, reading: “The family of Geoffrey Capes would like to announce his sad passing today, 23rd October.
“Britain’s finest shot-putter and twice world’s strongest man.”
As a shot-putter, he won an array of medals, most notably gold medals at both the Commonwealth Games and the European Indoor Championships.
However, to be in optimal shape for both shot-put and the Strong Man competitions, Capes had to eat right and more importantly, eat enough.
The three-time Olympian, who represented Team GB at the 1972 Munich games, 1976 Montreal Olympics and the 1980 games in Moscow, once shared his daily diet in an interview with the BBC.
“Feeding Capes is rather like stoking a human furnace…”#OnThisDay 1976: Tonight broke down the 12,000-calorie daily diet that helped to fuel strongman and Olympian Geoff Capes. pic.twitter.com/7CPaSUStAz
— BBC Archive (@BBCArchive) June 9, 2022
In recently resurfaced archival footage, the athlete can be seen training before his strong man days, lifting weights and staying in huge shape.
The reporter spoke about Capes’ routine, which involved five hours of exercise a day, most of which was weightlifting.
In a typical week, the late athlete would lift 120 tonnes, the equivalent of 18 double-decker buses, to ensure he was competition-ready.
But how much did he have to eat to have this level of energy?
Here’s what he’d have to consume in a regular day, which is four times the average food intake of a standard person:
2.7kg of red meat680g of cottage cheese450g of butterOne pack of cerealTwo large loaves of breadA dozen eggsA large tin of beansTwo tins of pilchardsOne pint of orange juiceSeven pints of milkThe ex-strong man ate a lot of food to stay in prime shape (Tony Duffy/Getty Images)
As well as the sheer volume of food he had to eat, the cost of all of this wasn’t what you’d call cheap, either.
Luckily, the athlete had butchers offering to give him free meat and sponsors sending him free tins of their food.
In 1976, the time of the interview, the red meat alone at the time would have set Capes back £15 a week in 1976, which equates to over £149.79 today after factoring in inflation.
Following his retirement, he went on to coach budding athletes and strong men, even guiding Adrian Smith to fifth spot in the World’s Strongest Man in 1990.
In the 80s, he made a few guest appearances on TV screens, coming up on shows such as Little and Large and The Kenny Everett Television Show.
